Holiday shopping season is in full swingรขโฌยฆ just maybe not in the NHL quite yet, where wish lists are growing long, but actual deals have yet to come to fruition.ร
With so little separation between the contenders and the sellers, the messy middle extending to much of the league while injuries hamper plans, itรขโฌs hard to figure out which teams are in position to buy and whoรขโฌs going to start selling.
Weรขโฌll start there.
Stars, Islanders among teams to watch as big injuries hit
The Florida Panthers have been an obvious target of trade chatter as theyรขโฌve been decimated by injuries to major stars early on, but theyรขโฌre far from alone when it comes to questions about how health setbacks might fuel a big move on the trade market.
The Dallas Stars join that conversation following Tuesdayรขโฌs ACL injury to Tyler Seguin. Itรขโฌs clear heรขโฌll be out for a while, but it remains to be seen whether his recovery timeline will extend beyond the regular season. That has a big impact not only on the obvious loss of his talents in the Starsรขโฌ lineup, but also when it comes to what kind of LTIR cap relief Dallas might see. If he is in fact ruled out for the rest of 2025-26, which means the remainder of the regular seasonรย andรย playoffs, he can be placed on season-ending LTIR and the Stars will have a sudden influx of cap flexibility (Seguinรขโฌs full cap hit, which is $9.85 million). If thereรขโฌs any possibility he could return at any point, though,รย the cap relief would be less than half of that.
While the Islanders arenรขโฌt as obvious a contender at this point in the season, they are in a similar position with Kyle Palmieri, who suffered an ACL tear last weekend and has been placed on injured reserve with a recovery timeline of six to eight months. With so many teams in the messy middle of the standings, itรขโฌll be interesting to see how they proceed with any cap space they have.
Adam Foxรขโฌs injury has Rangers looking for help
While the New York Rangers donรขโฌt face the same long-term questions when it comes to defenceman Adam Fox, whoรขโฌs dealing with a shoulder injury, his absence does leave New York in a tough spot. Sportsnetรขโฌs Elliotte Friedman believes theyรขโฌre looking for a little help, particularly when it comes to trying to fill the void left on the power play.ร
รขโฌลI do think they are looking for somebody out there, and one of the names Iรขโฌve kind of heard thrown around was Erik Gustafsson, which would make some sense,รขโฌ Friedman said on Fridayรขโฌs Edition ofรย 32 Thoughts: The Podcast. Thereรขโฌs some familiarity there. Gustafsson, who is currently with the Detroit Red Wingsรขโฌ AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids, played for the Rangers in 2023-24 and registered 25 assists with the club.ร
รขโฌลI donรขโฌt think thereรขโฌs anything done there by any stretch of the imagination, but I know theyรขโฌre looking around to see if thereรขโฌs someone they can find while Fox is out,รขโฌ Friedman said.
Flyers trying to calm the chatter around Tippett
Thereรขโฌs been chatter around the status of Philadelphia Flyers forward Owen Tippett and whether or not he might be available via trade. As Friedman explained on Fridayรขโฌs podcast, there may beย too muchย chatter.
รขโฌลI think the Flyers are trying to do everything they can to calm the noise around him,รขโฌ Friedman said. รขโฌลI think itรขโฌs bothered him a little bit. I think heรขโฌs definitely heard it. I think the Flyers are trying to say, รขโฌหLook, this is not our doing.รขโฌรขโฌ
Friedman said he believes the Vancouver Canucks have been among the teams inquiring, but said, รขโฌลI donรขโฌt think thatรขโฌs gonna be happening.รขโฌ
Said Friedman: รขโฌลI think (the Flyers are) trying to calm down the noise, simply because this is not created by them. Sometimes names are out there because teams are looking to move guys รขโฌโ this is not the case with Tippett. So, weรขโฌll see where that goes.รขโฌ
Are the Sabres shopping Luukkonen?
All eyes will be on the goalie market as the season goes on, considering how many teams currently have questions at the position due to both health and performance. That could make the Buffalo Sabres an interesting team to watch when it comes to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Periodรย believes “there’s an appetite to seriously look at moving him.” Whether that means an in-season trade or if it’s something that heats up closer to the draft in June, is unclear.
Luukkonen is 4-3-1 on the season so far and has a 2.51 goals-against average and .899 save percentage. The 26-year-oldรขโฌs contract is interesting รขโฌโ his $4.75-millin cap hit, with three more years of team control beyond this season, would appeal to plenty of clubs, and the fact that he has a modified no-trade clause that kicks in on July 1 puts a bit of a timeline on any potential deals, too.
Discover more from 6up.net
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.